How to spend a perfect weekend in Budapest: top things to see, best tours and food finds

Weekend in Budapest itinerary: how to plan your time, what to see, book and where to eat in Budapest for a fantastic weekend break in the city

They call it the Pearl of the Danube and moniker fits Budapest perfectly: the city is elegant, beautiful, grand yet understated and has a unique feel that makes it well worth a visit.

I recently spent a weekend here and since I know the city had plenty to offer, I put a lot of effort into researching the best things to do in Budapest over a short amount of time, so that I could get a sense of the city, see some of the landmarks, top experiences and, of course, food.

I had a wonderful time. My research paid off and I now I I feel I have a Budapest weekend itinerary so lovely, I can share it and give my recommendations to first time visitors! I hope you enjoy it!

Please note: this post contains affiliate links. Should you make a purchase, we might make a small commission.

Weekend in Budapest: TL;DR

Day 1 – Basilica and city walk

I arrived in Budapest on an early morning flight, which meant I had large part of the day to explore.

After arriving to the city, we settled in our beautiful Emerald hotel room and went for a bite in Goli Restaurant before heading to the Basilica, which I had pre-booked.

Walking around Budapest is pleasant and felt safe – since our hotel was so central, even just a local walk gave us plenty of opportunities to see pretty corners, including the impressive Synagogue (we didn’t enter though, we just saw it outside)

We quickly reached Budapest basilica which I highly, highly recommend you visit!

To access, you need to get a ticket and you can do so online via GetYourGuide (how I did) or at the shop to the right of the basilica. If you buy via GYG you also need to go to the shop but you have a separate, shorter queue, for those that only need to exchange the voucher for the actual ticket.

The main queue is hit and miss: one time I saw a long one, another time it was empty so I guess it is just down to luck!

To say that the basilica is stunning would be an understatement. Budapest basilica is incredibly spacious, decorated, elaborate yet oddly airy and truly takes your breath away.

I am from Rome, so I know amazing churches! And this is very much one of them.

Th incredible organ that played while we were there added to the atmosphere.

The ticket we got included the basilica floor, treasury (which we skipped) and terrace which is stunning. I highly recommend the terrace option as the views are spectacular.

The way up is by lift and not too scary even if you are afraid of heights. However, the second lift is a little small so if you don’t like small spaces, it may not be ideal.

After the basilica, we went for a drink on the terrace of the spectacular Aria Hotel (amazing! Enter the lobby even just to see it! The terrace is kid friendly) and then for dinner to the traditional Simaliba Belvarosi Csarda, to taste Hungarian cuisine (lovely! their special is goose, very unusual for us and really nice!

Day 2: Buda Castle and Spa Day

Budapest is commonly describes as made by two parts: Buda, the historic castle district, and Pest, the modern city on the opposite side of the Danube.

On the morning of day 2, I got an early start and went to Buda.

Getting there was easy: from where I was, I was able to walk to the bottom of the hil across the Chain Bridge, which is stunning, and equipped with a pedestrian lane that makes it easy to cross.

Once on the opposite side of the river, I went up with the fun cable car / funicular (tickets available on the spot). If you preferred to avoid it, several buses go up too.

The castle district is absolutely stunning. The area is historic and perfectly kept and is a mix of pretty buildings, majestic castle, bastion and churches and pretty eateries.

If you have been to Prague or Vienna, you may feel there are some architectural elements in common, yet there is also a very distinctive local feel that gives away you are very much in a different city.

The areas is very touristy and very easy to explore in your own time.

However, I do recommend taking a tour if you want to understand the history of the place and also see St Stephen’s Hall as on your own you’ll have very little background to what you are seeing.

If on your own, I recommend you follow the sings to Fisherman’s Bastion and St Mathias Church, which are among the most impressive landmarks you’ll see in this part of the city.

The castle area has many eateries but we had our heart set to the famous New York Cafe and so this is where we went. What a place! The cafe is stunning as the photos suggest and while the price of a meal is not cheap (the ‘restaurant charge’ adds a good bit to an otherwise reasonably priced menu) it is well worth the price, just for the experience.

The afternoon was devoted to the thermal spa, which is one of the most traditional and beloved places to be here, by locals and tourists alike.

The one we visited is the Széchenyi Spa which is fantastic and has the most incredible architecture. The spa is wonderful and has different pools but also a fantastic park which is itself worth seeing.

The best way to enjoy the spa is to have several hours so you can truly relax: make sure you bring own swimsuits, slippers and towel.

For dinner, we headed to Hoppa!Bistot for another Hungarian inspired meal, which definitely did not disappoint!

Day 3 – Cat museum and River cruise

On day three I treated myself to a visit to the Budapest cat museum which I adored. The museum is a lovely space all dedicated to cats and with something special: actual cats!

The museum is very central and easy to visit (booking mandatory). I had gotten my ticket ahead and entered the museum at the time I had booked.

A sign on the door declared it full, so I was happy to have planned this ahead! The place is lovely: the museum itself is calm and pleasant, with classical musing creating soothing atmosphere. The different rooms are all devoted to cats and have fun info about cats and installations, but the real attraction here are the resident cats that you can, gently and carefully, pet.

I adore cats and adored every minute of my time here!

After the museum, we walked back towards the center passing Liberty Square and Okbtober Street, which is lovely as full of restaurant. For this meal we chose Leila’s Authentic Lebanese Cuisine which was lovely!

We then headed for a cruise on the Danube, debating close to the restaurant.

What a spectacular way to finish the weekend!

The Danube in Budapest is wide and spectacular and truly a fantastic vantage point to see the city, including Buda castle form below and the stunning Parliament Building. I highly, highly recommend including it in your itinerary.

Weekend in Budapest tips

We stayed in the central area of Pest and we found the location to be ideal. Beautiful, well served and walking distances to many attractions

We used the bus and metro to get around. We found the BudapestGo app to be a convenient way to get tickets. Good to know: make sure your phone is charged as you need to use your camera to validate the ticket when boarding

Taxis seems to be a easy to find and you can also hail them from the street. We found the uber app to work well and notices many also had the ‘bolt’ sign on.

The local currency is the Florint and I found useful to use the ‘currency converter’ app to double check my maths

Cards are accepted almost anywhere. If you intend on taking out cash, do NOT do it at the atm at the airport as the exchange rate is insane (I made that mistake do you don’t have to….)

The electricity system uses the two prongs type plugs, like most of Central Europe.

The weather was brutal when we visited: very very hot, like the whole of Europe this June. I recommend checking the weather forecast and plan carefully to stay out of the heat as it is truly very intense (I am from Rome and reminded me very much of Rome in August)

How to get from Budapest airport to the city center

Getting from Budapest airport to the city is easy:

By bus – If you are on a budget, the bus 100E is an excellent choice. It leaves from juts outside the airport terminal building arrivals’ hall and get you to the city center for about 5 euro. You can get tickets at the ticket booth and they do accept cards.

By taxi – Taxis stop juts outside the arrivals hall, in the same area as bus 100E. Taxis are yellow (not dissimilar form NYC taxis) and there is an official taxi booth just outside the airport to book one. You do not hail taxis in this location: you join the line, tell the booth operator where you want to go and they give you a price and a voucher. You then book the driver directly on arrival. We paid around 30 euro to the center of Pest.

The rides takes about 30 minutes but traffic can be intense. Especially upon departure, I recommend to budget a good amount of time not to be under pressure.

Where to eat during your weekend in Budapest

We had lovely meals in Budapest. I recommend you try:

• Goli – mediterranean https://g.co/kgs/kRoxL58

• New York Cafe – stunning, old world cafe (burgers, breakfast) https://g.co/kgs/C4Xjn1b

• Central Grand Cafe & Bar – perfect for a breakfast treat https://g.co/kgs/pBTFB7n

• Hoppa!Bistot for informal, high level, modern Hungarian cuisine https://g.co/kgs/iF4s8nq

• Leila’s Authentic Lebanese cuisine https://g.co/kgs/rnHiJt3

• Simaliba Belvarosi Csarda (Hungarian) https://g.co/kgs/21jW8oK

I hope you enjoyed my itinerary for a weekend in Budapest and gave you some ideas on how you can plan your own and how make the most of your time. Safe travels!

Loved this post? Share it or pin it for later!